Going bananas at the flea market with lamp shades!

We have to admit it: We really do have a serious fixation with lamp shades! 🙂 There are more than plenty of old lamp shades available at flea markets nearly free of charge and the temptation is too much. We have not been able to bear the thought about how good they would look if we would just upholster them with some nice fabrics and ribbons. As a result, we have been buying many and have now several ones to choose from! There is one for every mood and feast you might think of 🙂

This is a simple DIY work and you can really save some cash, which is always nice. You can spend it on something else instead! 🙂 Follow these four steps to a heavenly success. We especially like the fourth step 😉

1. Find a hideous looking lamp shade from a flea market or if you are lucky, you might even have one at home.

2. At this stage, you have two options: 1) remove the old fabric or 2) cover the old one with a new one without removing the old. This depends on the condition of the old fabric and its color as well as if you are using a see-through fabric. Lamp shades made out of cardboard can be easily covered with new fabric but if there are for example some pleats, it is wise to remove the old fabric before placing the new one.

3. Cut a suitable piece of fabric and start attaching it to the shade frame with a hot glue gun. Sketch the area to be cut first with a pencil. You may also want to use some clothespins to place the fabric nicely on the lamp frame before any gluing. Fold the edges inside the lamp shade and glue them fast. Finally decorate with some nice ribbons.

4. Enjoy!

Lamp shade with a reused monogrammed tea towel. You can find ones at flea markets or you might have some old ones with holes in it at home. This is a good opportunity to reuse them!

And the evening look!

This triple lamp shade is made out of basic linen and decorated with cotton lace and velvet ribbon

This one was super easy! We did not even need any glue. Just attached some rubber band to fasten the fabric. By the way, the fabric is from an old undershirt. Recycling at its best 🙂